Suture package



y 1941. c. F. HORINE' SUTURE PACKAGE Filed March 17, 1939 C 3115 FHOE/NE Patented July 15, 1941 amaze NT other I SUTURE PACKAGE Q V Cyrus F. Horine; Baltimore, Md.

Application March 17, 1939, Serial No. 262,528

10 Claims. (01. 206-633) My invention relates to sterilized sutures, or ligatures used for suturing and tying in surgical operations and more particularly to a novel and improved manner of packaging and handling the same, as well as labeling the same.

As is well known to the art, sutures commonly known as catgut, are made from the muscle coat of the sheeps intestine. It is usually fashioned in the form of a single flat thin strip or ribbon, five feet or more in length, which is" tightly twisted and polished to form a round, smooth strand, after which it has been the practic to package the suture in a sterile container in the presence of a preserving solution.

In the prior art constructions, it has been corn mon to wind the ligature or strand in a flattened or elongated loop, or upon a flat reel or bobbin and to then place the same into a glass tube, the tube being about six or more inches in length. The ligature is then ready for treatment prior to scaling the tube. This treatment is accomplished by next placing into the open end of the tube a plug of cotton and the tube thus closed by the cotton is then placed in a vacuum dryer or machine to withdraw all Water from the suture material Within the tube. After drying, the tube and its contents are next sterilized at a temperature of approximately 300 degrees F., for at least one hour and these drying and sterilization steps of the treating process, generally cause a contraction of the strand in the longitudinal dimension; for instance, a sixty inch strand will contract from 2 to 3 inches.

A sterile hollow needle is then passed through the cotton .plug, and through this needle a preserving solution is added to the tube containing the dehydrated and sterilized suture. The tube'is 'then ready for sealing ofi in the usual manner by means of a double or triple needle point gas flame. This sealing or closing of the tube takes plac between the preserving solution level and the cotton plug, thus producing a hermetically sealed package approximately 4 inches in length.

The preserving solution, usually 95% alcohol, also serves as a vehicle to add a small amount of moisture to the dehydrated suture or gut to make the gut pliable for use and it has been observed that this tiny amount of water in the preserving solution causes a marked swelling .of the strand which takes place in its transverse diameter. As a result of the softening and swelling of the gut in the preserving solution it will have a tendency to untwist in the counterclockwise direction, the strand having been o iginally wound in a clockwise direction. This loss of twist or opening up of the ribbon-like strand, in the solution, exposes more and more inner surfaces of the ligature material, inthe package, and in use these exposed surfaceswill be subject to the influence of tissue fluids, which will actively engage said surface portions and resultin too rapid and therefore unsatisfactory dissolution of the ligature. As a result, it has been observed that failure of theligature through ;loss of twist therein, has followed with very serious consequences operations.

In'my'co-pending application, 8. N. 198,177, filedMarch 26,1938, I have described an improved manner of packaging the ligature, suture or gut so as to overcom the above objections, and in this prior construction, the ligature is wound about a tapered bobbin in the form of a smoothly curved conical or tapered spiral. Thus, when, it is removed from the bobbin and" the spiral strand drawn tight, the twist which was originally placed in the strand is greatly increased and tightened, avoiding the previously existing tendency to bec'omeuntwisted at points. Other advantages of my improved suture and package over the prior art are clearly disclosed in said prior application and need not be further discussed here. A disadvantage of prior art constructions adapted for the packaging of a suture strand resides in the factthat the transparent container, usually used for this purpose, has been formed so as to provide or require an excessive volume of space and solution in which the suture may be'completely submerged. Such a container structure causes considerable waste in manufacture'and use and further results in an unnecessary added weight to the package. Y

A further disadvantage in prior art products ofthischaracter, has occurred when the transparent container is fractured to release the strand for use, which due to the exposed and open condition -of the strand often causes. laceration thereof at various points with a consequent loss and/or rapid failure of the strand in use.

V A stillv further disadvantage of prior art prod ucts, for packaging sutur strands occurs in the delivery or dispensing of the strand of suture material for use. It is readily apparent that delivery of the strand from the container requires considerable exposure of the ligature to the hand, resulting in the chance of contamination of the sterile ligature with infectious bacteria, which in turn maybe transmitted to the wound. T j

greatly affecting the success, of

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to overcome the above defined disadvantages or defects in ligature packages and I accomplish this object by the novel construction and arrangement of bobbin and cooperating container described herein.

Broadly my invention consists in the forming of a reel or bobbin from a sheet of paper, or other equivalent flexible material, in the shape of a cone and thereafter winding or coiling a twisted suture strand around said cone and completely covering the coiled strand with another cone of the same or like material, as that used in the structure of the first cone. The completed reel or bobbin with its thus protected suture strand thereon is then deposited in a correspondingly shaped and tapered, transparent container in the presence of a preservative antiseptic solution, the suture and container is then dehydrated and finally sealed according to the practice already established. 7

As a result of this novelarrangement, the completely covered and protected length of suture strand may be readily removed from a fractured glass container, without damage or contamination of thesuture'and supported for ready use thereof. Further the ligature may be easily and quickly withdrawn from one end of the enclosed and protected conical bobbin without kinking, or the formationof-knots in the strand so that it is easily straightened. Further, the strand being wound and supported on a continuously curved surface, lacks the sharp bends or turns which impart weakness to the strands of the prior art. It is also of importance, that the strip, which constitutes the suture, betwisted clockwise in its originalpreparation, and that this twist be maintained, and even increased by means of the winding operation upon the bobbin, the winding being performed in the same clockwise direction in which the ligature or suture strip is twisted.

It will be'understood that in the practice of this invention, the ligaturev will always be wound upon the bobbin to correspond to the right or left twist of the ligature strip.

Another important advantage of my improved construction as shown and described herein resides in the use of the reel or bobbin as a support for the ligature or suture during use in surgical operations. The bobbin may be held in one hand, and the free'end of the strand led off from the bobbin between the first and second fingers. With the bobbin thus supported and. anchored in the one hand, the thumb and index finger'of that hand are free for use in the tying of knots. In such cases it is important that'the length of strand upon the bobbin does not come into contact with the hand. As it emerges from the protected bobbin the portion of the ligature which may be thrown around the vessel being tied has not been handled, thus reducing the chance of carrying bacteria into the wound to a minimum.

An important object of. this invention isto provide a conical, suture bobbin which is circumferentially .contrantable so that during the usual treatmentof the suturecoiled thereon pr'iorto sealing within the container, the strand is first caused to contract, as above-explained and that this contraction is permitted to take place'without causing stretching or weakening of the strand at any point. -Therefore after sterilization and the addition of a preserving solution to the container, the coiled strand will absorb only its required amount of water to return it to normal,

unshrunken condition without altering the original twisted condition thereof.

Further, by producing a bobbin in the form of a cone the so-called gut strand may be readily wound thereon in the form of a smoothly curved tapered spiral, in which spiral form it may be readily released so as to slide off the smaller end of the bobbin without unwinding. The freed, spirally coiled suture may thereafter be drawn taut and straightened by holding opposite ends thereof, without danger of kinking and knotting the strand, and when thus straightened from this spiral form the twist, which was originally placed in the strand, is caused to tighten or increase, avoiding the previously existing tendency to weakness through packaging and consequent failure of the suture in use.

A further object of my invention resides in the formation of a hermetically sealed, transparent container or tube of glass, the lower end portion of which is generally tapered to a rounded end in conformity with the paper cone-shaped bobbin which is to be received therewithin. Aside from reducing the quantity of sterilizing liquid which is required to fill this portion of the tube, thetapering Walls of the container serve to hold the inner, tapered package portions against ex pansion so that there is noappreciable, relative movement between. the parts, comprising the inner'and outer protected conical package.

A further object of my invention is that the lowermost rounded end of thetubular containers serves to automatically crimp the'outer wrapper layer, of the conical'inner package or bobbin, so as to interlock and underlie that end of the bobbin portion and protect the'same against distortion.

A further object of my invention resides in the formation of a tubular glass container for suture package in which one end portion of the container has substantially straight wall portions and the opposite end wall portions taper to a rounded end wall to snugly embrace the inner tapered suture carrying bobbin, and in which a weakened score line extends circumferentially around the tapered wall'of the container at a point adjacent the juncture between tapered and straight wall portions, whereby when the tube is fractured its tapered end portion may be readily slipped off of the bobbin so as to expose the major portion thereof with the upper flared end of the bobbin retained within the relatively short truncated extension of the opposite end of the severed con tainer which thereafter serves as a handle or support for the suture bobbin in use.

The particular cone-shaped or taperedform of themajor portion of the glass tube employed reduces the total volume of the container with a consequent reduction in weight. Further, by thus reducing the volume of the container, a preserving fiuid of 70% alcohol solution may be used, rather than a solution of concentration. This is an important object of my invention because the first named solution of 7 0% concentration provides a better germicide for the ligature and its conical support. Further, by using a small volume of fluid thetotal volume of water in the solution is reduced to that of amore expensive concentration so that the amount of water present will not causeundue swelling of the suture material; Other objects and advantages of theinventio will appear as the description of the drawing proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do .not intend to limit myself to the parreference characters denote corresponding. partsthroughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the paper blank from which the reel or bobbin of the present invention'is formed.

Figure 2 is a view of the same blank showing the first step in the formation of the conical bobbin.

' Figure 3 is a front view of the blank of Fig. 2

with the ligature wound on the lower conical portion.

Figure 4 is a slightly enlarged front ele ation of the completed conical, protected suture package prior to placing the same within the glass ccontainer for sterilization.

Figure 5 is an enlarged front elevation of the completed package, i. e. the protected suture bobbin and package of Fig. 4 housed within the tubular glass container which provides a hermetically sealed enclosure and support therefor.

Fig.6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but illustrating the cooperating relation between the container and bobbin parts after severing the glass container at the weakened line around the tapered body part and removing the severed tapered-body part; and

Fig. 7 is a greatly enlarged view in vertical section with parts removed to illustrate the twist of the helically coiled suture strand and direction of winding thereof on the conical bobbin, also the supporting relation between the protected suture package and frangible container.

-Referring to the drawing in detail, Figure 1 discloses a blank I, preferably formed of a flat piece of paper or other equivalent material. The blank is adapted to be rolled and folded into the form of a double layer truncated cone having oppositely extending upper and lower portions 2 and 3 for this purpose. In this blank the bases of portions 2 and 3 are joined by a fold which is partially severed at each side to leave only the central part intact, as at 4. The lower portion 3 is about 1% inches in length, whereas-the upper portion is approximately 2 inches in length. The base of the lower or shorter portion 3 has projecting semicircular portions 5 projectingtherefrom, for a purpose to be later described.

The short'er cone 3 is formed with a small proximately 75 inch in diameter and an apex of approximately $6 inch in diameter. This will provide for a ligature or strip of suture material approximately inches in length. In accordance with the preferred details, these matters of.

dimension are merely for descriptive purposes and not intended as a limitation on the scope of the invention.

In accordance with the preferred proportions in which the bobbin is constructed, the base porof the spiral is laid in close relation 'tothe pre ceding turn and very preferably each turn is given a clockwise twist about theaxis' of the catgut in winding. The procedure in winding is continued to a point about inch from the apex. The upper portion 2 is then folded down over the wound'material 1 on the bobbin portion 3 so as to completely enclose the same" and extend therebeyond. 'The bobbin is thereafter removed from the forming spindle and the projections or tabs 5 folded in over the upper edge of the inner cone to hold the completed bobbin in assembled position prior to placing in the glass container as shown in Fig. 4;

A further important feature of the present invention resides in the particular-shape and construction of the transparent'container in which the bobbin is supported and sealed. This container, as shown in Fig. 5, is in the form of a slender, elongated glass tube 8, the greater portion 9, of which is of conical formation with a rounded end wall l0. The'inside' diameter of the tubular container'will vary ofcourse according to the size of the bobbin to be placed into the conical portion; thereof. For'example, the base-of the cone shaped portion 9, should be approximately 6 inch in internal diameter to receive the conical sature package containing the length of gut strand and cover of approximately inch in foutside diameter. Under these circumstances, the apex of the cone or frustrum is rounded and in the circumstances above related should not exceed inch in the internal diameter, into which theapex of the assembled bobbin containing the catgut of inch in out side diameter is to be forced so as to crimp the apex of the outer'1cover3 as shown in Fig. 5.

The average length of the cone shaped portion of the'tube would be about 1%inches, which :length would accommodate a'bobbin containing approximately 60'inches of suturematerial.

The tube'is scored or creased circumferentially on the tapered wall portion a's' at 'l I, adjacent the juncture with the tubular en'd'portion 8 of ,maximum diameter and therefore'may be fractured more easily'without shatteringin opening the tube for use or for the release of the bobbin from the tube. By this 'structure and point of scoring, the bobbin will normally remain suspendedby its larger endin the severed truncated portion 8 of the tube, the "upper flaring end of the bobbin projecting into thetube above the line of fracture as shown in Fig- 6, and permitting the'bobbinxto be readily grasped for removal if desired. In use the-outer cone or covering 2 the bobbin after the tube is severed, in that this prevents the strand from catching or being interfered with at the point or, end of the inner.

twisted suture material due to the addition of the moisture in the preserving fluid.

A further advantage of the protected bobbin described above is that it saves. an extra label and the operation of inserting the label, or other means of identification, in each tube by-' providing a surface 2' on which the label may be stamped directly.

Thus it will be seen that the construction herein shown and described is well' adapted. to accomplish the objects of the present invention. It will be understood, however, that the invention may be embodied otherwise than here shown and that in the embodiment illustrated, certain changes in the construction may be made. Therefore, I do not wish to be limitedexcept as may be required by the appended claims considered with reference to the prior art.

Having thusdescribed the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A suture package comprising a hermetically sealed container, a conical bobbin enclosed within the container and having a suture spirally wound in a single layer thereon, and an outer covering portion unitary with the bobbin and substantially enclosing the suture.

2. A suture package comprising a sealed con tainer, an antiseptic fluid in said container, a conical bobbin immersed in said fluid within the container and having a suture spirally wound in a single layer thereon, said container including a wall conforming to the outer conical surface of the wound suture for'snugly receiving same throughout the extent thereof.

3. A suturepackage comprising a glass tube:

sealed at opposite ends thereof and being tapered toward one end thereof, .a suture bobbin within said tube and being tapered in conformity with the taperedportion of said tube and having a suture spirally wound in 'asingle layer: thereon, and an outer covering integral with the bobbin substantially enclosing the suture and extending between the wound suture and correspondingly shaped portion of the tube.

4. A suture package comprising a sealed frangible container having a tapered wall, a'

tapered bobbin having a suture spirally wound in a single layer thereon enclosed within said container and snugly engaged with the tapered wall thereof, and a scored breaking line in the tapered wall of the container in the region of the bobbin and adjacent the larger end thereof. -5-.- A suture package comprising a sealed frangible container having a tapered wall, an antiseptic fluid in said container, a conical bobbin immersed in said fluid within the container and having a suture spirally wound in a single; layer thereon, a conical outer coveringunitary with the bobbin substantially enclosing the suture, and a scored breaking line in the tapered wall of the container surrounding said covering adjacent the larger end of the bobbin.

6. A suture package comprising a sealed container, a bobbin of substantially conical form enclosed within the container and having a suture spirally wound in a single layer thereon, and an outer covering integral with the bobbin substantially enclosing the suture, the covering being longer than the bobbin and being crimped over the smaller end of the bobbin.

7. A suture package comprising a sealed container in the form of an elongated tube having its wall tapered from adjacent one end to the opposite end thereof, an antiseptic fluid in said container, a bobbin of substantially conical form immersed with said fluid in the container and having a suture spirally wound in a single layer thereon, and an outer conical shaped covering unitary with the bobbin substantially enclosing the suture, the outer covering snugly fitting within the tapered wall of the container and the covering being longer than the bobbin and being crimped over the smaller end of the bobbin.

8. In a suture package a bobbin comprising a. flexible, substantially conical shaped tube of a length to receive a layer of spirally wound suture strand thereon and a flexible covering having a foldable connection with the tube and being coextensive therewith for enclosing the suture strand wound thereon.

9. In a suture package .a bobbin blank comprising a flexible, substantially conical shaped body portion for receiving a suture strandspirally wound ina single layer thereon, a flexible substantially conical shaped covering portion for enclosing said body portion and foldabl-y connected therewith along a line forming the larger end of said body; and foldable interlocking means for connecting edge portions of said covering andbody portions adjacent the fold line.

10. A suture package comprising a sealed, frangible container in the form of an elongated tube having the major portion of its wall tapered toward one end thereof, a suture carrying bobbin enclosing within said container and including a tapered suture enclosing covering snugly engaging the tapered wall of the container, and a weakened severance line in the tapered wall of the container adjacent the larger end of the covering, whereby said bobbin will be retained with a portion of said container by engagement with the covering thereof adjacent its large end when said container'is severed on said line.

CYRUS F. HORINE'. 

